Expanding Your Donor Network
As much as nonprofit organizations try to retain donors, there are always a number who will
drop off the donor roles each year. When these donors are significant contributors to an
organization, this can be create a sudden loss of anticipated income. To maintain a healthy,
sustainable organization, it is important to always be prospecting for new donors.
This Topic of the Month outlines ways that you can leverage your existing donors and networks
to cultivate and retain new donors and volunteers for your organization.
The Need
Today, it is harder than ever to retain a donor. On average, an organization retains 27% of its
new donors each year, which means that three out of four donors are lost every year.1 The
news is less dire for animal welfare, and international relief organizations, all of whom saw
increases in new donors over the past several years, primarily due to major natural disasters.
However, for organizations in the arts, health, and human services, donor decline is a significant
– and growing – issue.
In addition, many nonprofits are finding it difficult to attract new donors. Since 2005, the number
of donors an organization acquires each year has been falling a median of 3.5% each year.2
This means that if an organization had 100 new donors last year, it will likely only have 96 new
donors next year. The cumulative effect of accessing fewer new donors each year can quickly
become a significant issue. The average retention rate of donors who have given more than
once is not much better at 49%.3 While nonprofits have an opportunity to focus on donor
retention strategies, these statistics demonstrate the importance of continually cultivating new
donors.
Mapping Your Way to New Donors
One of the best ways to discover new donors is by completing a “treasure map” exercise.4
Because this is a brainstorming exercise, it is best done with a group of people. This can be
completed as part of a board meeting, a staff meeting or even an annual board or staff retreat.
Step 1: Who Do You Know?
Begin by writing down your organization’s name in the middle of a large piece of paper or on a
flipchart. Then, write down every person, organization or group that your organization comes in
Longfield, Chuck. “Acquisition Trends and New Donor Stewardship.” 28 January 2013.
http://www.npengage.com/acquisition/acquisition-trends-and-new-donor-stewardship/#sthash.CawIssSE.dpuf
2
Nonprofit Times. 07 April 2011. http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/donors-still-eroding-but-gifts-getting-larger/
3
Kapin, Allyson. Strategies to Increase Nonprofit Donor Retention Rates. 11 February 2013.
http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/2/11/strategies-to-increase-nonprofit-donor-retention-rates.html - ixzz2XukMnTKk
4
Adapted from the Treasure Map Exercise from Raising More Money, now called Benevon.
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contact with over the course of a year, drawing a line connecting the organization to the contact.
Having a number of people involved in this process will make it easier to think of all the people
and groups that are part of your organization. Consider:
Current clients.
Former clients.
Vendors.
Staff and former staff.
Donors, volunteers, board members.
Civic groups, political groups, religious affiliations.
Neighbors/neighboring organizations.
As you begin, your chart may look something like this:
Step 2: What Does Each Group Have In Abundance?
A basic tenet of fundraising is to make sure you are asking for individuals and organizations
have available to give; there is no sense in asking for something they cannot provide. The next
step of the treasure map exercise is to identify what each person, group or organization has in
abundance.
For example, churches have a lot of people, they often have space, and they may have financial
resources. Office supply stores have a lot of product, including items your organization uses
frequently, such as printer toner. Major donors have the capacity to give, but some may also
have access to networks of peers who may also be donors. Individuals will usually have time,
money or technical expertise but usually not an abundance of all three.
At this stage in the process, do not limit your thinking in this stage of the process to the specifics
of what you would ask for. We know that office supply stores receive hundreds of requests for
toner and probably won’t be able to provide your organization with an annual supply for free.
However, what this exercise does is help you to think through what the organization has a lot of
so that you can go back and structure a more appropriate ask. It can also help you think through
opportunities for donations, such as space, product, or technical expertise that you may not
have previously considered.
After writing these down on the map next to the associated connections, your map may begin to
look something like this:
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Step 3: What’s In It For Them?
We realize that giving is not a transactional process. Ideally, giving is a true expression of
philanthropy, where a donor contributes because they want to support your mission and wants
nothing in return. It is important, however, to realize that everyone has a self-interest. For a
donor, it may be a need to feel like they are leaving a legacy or contributing in a positive way to
the development of their community. Other types of donors, such as corporations, may want to
support an organization and also receive positive PR from its affiliation with a community
nonprofit.
The next step of this exercise is to go through each of your individuals, groups or organizations
and try to identify their self-interest, noting it accordingly. In addition to focusing on donors, it is
important to remember the self-interest of entities that would be able to contribute something
other than cash. For example, a civic group may need to provide service opportunities for its
members which it could do through one of your volunteer programs. Or your town’s local
newspaper may need human interest stories which your organization can provide.
Your map may begin to look something like this:
Step 4: Who Is Missing?
Once you have identified the major individuals and groups who are connected with your
organization, identified what they have a lot of as well as their self-interest, it is time to take a
step back and see who is missing. Think through the key influences in your industry. If you work
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in healthcare, is there a prominent researcher or organization that would give credibility to your
mission if you were somehow affiliated with them? If you are a local social service organization,
is there a local celebrity who has an interest in your mission and could raise awareness of your
cause? Are there other national or international leaders or influencers who could champion your
cause? Are there other organizations with whom you could partner?
Add names of any missing individuals, groups or organizations to your chart. It is important to
remember that since this is a brainstorming session, people may have additional thoughts after
the session. Keep your treasure map as a work in progress, and encourage staff, board
members and/or volunteers to update it as they get new ideas or make new connections.
Step 5: Who Talks to Each Other?
Once you have a visual of everyone affiliated with your organization as well as several people or
groups you would like to have affiliated with your organization, the next step is to draw lines
between the entities that talk to or interact with each other. For example, your board members
probably interact with some of your donors and other volunteers. A current client may have
connections to a local politician who is on your “wish list” of people you want affiliated with your
organization. A leader at a local place of worship most likely talks to other leaders at other
places of worship, including the one on your target list.
Although your map can get messy by drawing the connection points, it is important to visually
see all the ways in which people and groups interact with each other. This exercise can also
help you plan a strategy for accessing some of the individuals or groups you have on your list of
entities you wish were affiliated with your organization.
As you begin to conclude, your treasure map may look something like this:
Using Your Map: Making Connections
Once you have completed the treasure map exercise, ask each participant in the process to
“own” three groups or individuals that are on your map. For example, someone can select to
work with the local office supply store to see what their policies for giving are. Someone else
can contact a former program participant who now works for an organization with whom you
would like to be affiliated.
At this point in the process, it is not unusual to have a list of individuals who you don’t really
know. These are often your key donor prospects, and it can be difficult to know what to do next.
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Use your treasure map to determine any possible points of connection, and then contact the
prospect and simply ask them for their advice. A few questions can include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What do you know about our organization?
How could we tell our story better?
What do you feel are the most pressing issues facing our community today?
How do you think we could better serve our community?
Asking a few questions will give you a good idea of how interested the prospect is in your
organization. It is entirely appropriate to ask if you could provide them with more information
and/or if they would be interested in attending an upcoming event.
Through this exercise, you may also discover people who were at one time affiliated with your
organization but who are no longer active. These may include past donors, former board
members, and former staff and volunteers. Nonprofit organizations often overlook the
contributions and connections of these “former” individuals, particularly past staff and
volunteers. Again, you can use a series of questions to reconnect with these individuals and
help them become engaged again in your organization. Suggested questions include:
1. How did you first come to be involved with us?
2. What did you like about being affiliated with us (working/volunteering with us)?
3. What is your favorite memory of our organization?
This can give you important feedback on each person’s specific areas of interest in your
organization, and it can also help establish even more connections. For example, you may find
out that a former staff member or donor is connected to current donors or volunteers. Be sure to
record all of the information you learn in your organization’s database, and, when appropriate,
develop a strategy for reconnecting with each of the individuals you contact.
Conclusion
While we are all tempted to look for the silver bullet solution to finding major donors, it is
important to remember that fundraising is an on-going, long-term system and strategy.
Integrating the Treasure Map exercise into your annual planning and strategy can help keep
your staff, board and volunteers focused on making new connections, seeing relationships
between existing connections, and finding making appropriate asks of time, talent and
resources.
Articles for Further Reading
1. Additional statistics on the industry standards for donor retention
http://www.npengage.com/acquisition/acquisition-trends-and-new-donorstewardship/#sthash.CawIssSE.dpuf
2. Strategies for retaining donors: http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/2/11/strategiesto-increase-nonprofit-donor-retention-rates.html#ixzz2XukMnTKk
Kimberly Reeve is a Managing Director and Michelle Fitzgerald is a former Senior Associate in the New York
office of Cathedral Consulting Group, LLC.
For more information, please visit Cathedral Consulting Group LLC online at www.cathedralconsulting.com or
contact us at info@cathedralconsulting.com.
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